1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a quick release fastener device for both securely installing and quickly removing storm shutter panels over and from windows and doors of a home or building.
2. Description of Related Art
In the southeastern United States as well as other areas of the world prone to receiving tropical storms, hurricane or storm shutters are a virtual necessity for homes and businesses in coastal areas. While providing protection from high winds and flying debris during the onslaught of a hurricane or tropical storm, conventional hurricane shutters are difficult to install and require time-consuming and tedious installation and use of wing nuts and other inefficient fastening devices to securely install the shutters over windows and doors of buildings. The storm shutters also represent an inherent danger to those who take shelter behind them due to the occurrence of emergency situations, such as fires, wherein people are frequently trapped inside their homes and cut off from normally available escape routes through the windows and doors due to the manner in which conventional shutters are fastened securely to a building. Currently, many hurricane shutters are firmly attached to the exterior of a building by a plurality of threaded fasteners. Each fastener must be individually and manually removed from the outside of the house by unscrewing or otherwise unfastening the shutters from the exterior walls requiring a large amount of time and effort. For this reason, conventional hurricane shutters are inefficient and also impose a great risk to life. Numerous incidents are reported of persons succumbing to smoke and fire because they were unable to exit their homes due to being trapped behind the shutters covering the windows and doors. With most hurricane shutters, inhabitants cannot access the exterior fasteners from the interior of the house, while a rescuer, such as a fireman, outside the shuttered building must remove numerous threaded fasteners to remove a few shutter panels to expose the windows and provide a point of entry into the building.